No, not that Petrino.
In a release, Idaho announced that it has hired Paul Petrino as its new head football coach. Petrino will replace Robb Akey, who was the first coach fired during the spinning of the 2012 coaching carousel.
It will be Petrino’s first head-coaching job at the collegiate level.
“Paul has coached college football at the highest level and brings the coaching experience, energy, toughness and commitment to developing the entire student-athlete at the University of Idaho,” athletic director Rob Spear said. “He has an outstanding coaching pedigree and is known as one of most creative offensive minds in the country, which will bring an exciting brand of football to the University of Idaho.”
Sandwiched around a one-year stint as Illinois’ offensive coordinator in 2011, Petrino spent four seasons in the same position at Arkansas. He remained on the Razorbacks’ coaching staff after his brother, Bobby Petrino, was fired this past spring.
The move to the Vandals will also serve as a homecoming of sorts as Petrino was an assistant at the school from 1992-94.
“I’m very excited,” Petrino said. “It’s a dream come true. I’ve wanted to be a head coach my whole life. I had a chance to come back out to the Northwest. ...
“I look forward to getting back, getting the Vandal Family all excited and fired up. We want to score a whole bunch of points, be explosive on offense and hit that quarterback on defense. We want to win a whole bunch of games and go to bowls.”
Petrino will be taking over a program that won just three games the past two seasons, including one in 2012, and hasn’t been to a bowl since 2009.